talaya

GCC banks enter the second half of the decade with aggregate capital ratios comfortably above every supervisory floor in the region — but the dispersion beneath the headline is significant, and the Strait of Hormuz remains the fulcrum of unpriced risk.

Several banking sectors hold fortress CET1 positions north of 16%, while others operate with single-digit headroom above regulatory minimums and leverage ratios that leave limited room for error. Profitability remains structurally sound, with sector ROE averaging above 13%, though margin compression is emerging as the rate cycle turns and cost-to-income ratios diverge by as much as 15 percentage points across markets. Liquidity coverage is broadly adequate, yet structural funding gaps persist — select issuers report NSFR below the 100% regulatory floor, and securities encumbrance ratios exceeding 70% in one market constrain collateral capacity at precisely the moment it may be needed most. On asset quality, reported NPL ratios remain benign, but Stage 2 concentrations of 20–26% at certain names signal watchlist migration risk that has not yet surfaced in headline impairment charges. The forty issuers below each carry a different answer to these questions.

issuer mosaic

FABUAEB

First Abu Dhabi Bank

$382bn

The UAE's largest bank runs its region's thinnest NIM at 1.45% — by design. A 22.4% cost-to-income ratio and growing capital markets fees substitute for spread income.

13.3%

CET1

14.4%

ROE

105%

NSFR

22%

C/I

QNBQatarC

Qatar National Bank

~100bp

Three consecutive years of 89–109bp cost of risk on a $382bn balance sheet — QNB's provisioning discipline is deliberate, absorbing what would otherwise be double-digit earnings growth.

15.0%

CET1

13.6%

ROE

105%

NSFR

24%

C/I

ARBKSAB

Al Rajhi Bank

23.4%

A 23.4% cost-to-income ratio is the lowest in the GCC, powered by a CASA franchise that still funds 63% of the balance sheet despite a 31-point erosion since 2020.

16.6%

CET1

17.4%

ROE

109%

NSFR

23%

C/I

SNBKSAB

Saudi National Bank

115%

The Kingdom's largest bank quietly migrated from deposit-surplus to wholesale-dependent: its loan-to-deposit ratio climbed from 83% to 115% in five years, a transformation only now being acknowledged.

17.7%

CET1

12.3%

ROE

114%

NSFR

ENBDUAEB

Emirates NBD

$317bn

At $317bn in assets, ENBD processes one million card transactions daily and holds a 33–35% share of UAE card spend — a fee moat that insulates earnings as NIM compresses.

14.4%

CET1

16.6%

ROE

120%

NSFR

ADCBUAEC

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

15%

Annual loan growth of 15% built the UAE's third-largest balance sheet at $211bn, yet ROE sits 400bp below the UAE median — a deliberate trade of margin for sovereign-grade market share.

13.8%

CET1

12.9%

ROE

109%

NSFR

RIYADKSAD

Riyad Bank

113%

Loan-to-deposit ratio surged to 113% as 16% credit growth outstripped 8% deposit growth — the clearest illustration of Saudi banking's structural funding gap in a single number.

13.6%

CET1

13.8%

ROE

109%

NSFR

30%

C/I

SABKSAC

Saudi Awwal Bank

30.3%

Saudi's most conservative funding profile — a 30.3% C/I and 118% NSFR — yet ROE languishes at 9.9%. Efficiency without NIM is a car with a tuned engine and no fuel.

14.8%

CET1

9.9%

ROE

118%

NSFR

DIBUAEB

Dubai Islamic Bank

15.8%

A 15.8% cost-to-income ratio — nearly half the UAE median — does the heavy lifting. It has to: CEO Chilwan is guiding NIM down 90bp to 2.30% for FY2026.

12.3%

CET1

14.1%

ROE

109%

NSFR

MASHREQUAEC

Mashreqbank

62.3%

The UAE's richest CASA franchise at 62.3% should deliver a top-tier NIM. Instead, Mashreq's 2.43% trails the market median — the bank is deliberately prioritising asset quality over yield.

12.3%

CET1

16.9%

ROE

113%

NSFR

ALINMAKSAC

Alinma Bank

3.01%

Widest NIM in Saudi banking — 15bp above Al Rajhi — fuelled by project finance yields. But a 101% loan-to-deposit ratio leaves it the most wholesale-dependent name in the Kingdom.

13.5%

CET1

13.3%

ROE

BSFKSAB

Banque Saudi Fransi

3.3%

Management's Strategy 2030 targets a 3.3% NIM — yet FY2025 printed at 2.81%, already 19bp below the CSFO's own 'starting point.' Closing that gap defines the investment case.

16.2%

CET1

10.6%

ROE

126%

NSFR

34%

C/I

ANBKSAB

Arab National Bank

90.2%

Second-heaviest RWA density in Saudi Arabia converts an above-median NIM and 16.4% CET1 into a paradoxically modest 10.3% ROE. Capital is abundant; capital efficiency is not.

16.4%

CET1

10.3%

ROE

KFHKuwaitB

Kuwait Finance House

$139bn

The GCC's largest Islamic bank by assets, yet Turkey — 24% of the balance sheet — imports hyperinflationary accounting noise that caps group ROE at 10.5%, well below tier peers.

13.3%

CET1

10.5%

ROE

ALBILADKSAB

Bank Albilad

42.2%

Saudi's highest cost-to-income ratio is the sole drag on an otherwise premium engine: NIM tops the KSA median by 19bp, cost of risk is negligible, and ROE clears 14%.

14.8%

CET1

14.3%

ROE

SIBKSAC

Saudi Investment Bank

27.1%

Saudi's weakest CASA ratio at 27.1% — nearly half the market median — is the single variable explaining why SIB's NIM trails peers by 71bp despite an otherwise competitive cost structure.

14.3%

CET1

10.8%

ROE

JAZIRAKSAC

Bank AlJazira

1.81%

Saudi Arabia's lowest NIM at 1.81% sits 94bp below the market median, driven by a 39.6% CASA ratio that trails every major domestic peer. The funding franchise is the bottleneck.

12.3%

CET1

6.9%

ROE

NBKKuwaitB

National Bank of Kuwait

40%+

Over 40% of assets sit outside Kuwait — the most internationally diversified Kuwaiti bank — providing natural hedging as domestic GDP faces a projected 2.7% contraction.

13.1%

CET1

10.2%

ROE

GIBBahrainB

Gulf International Bank

43.6%

A loan-to-deposit ratio of just 43.6% means over half of GIB's $38bn deposit base sits in treasury assets. Less a lending franchise than a Gulf liquidity warehouse.

14.8%

CET1

4.0%

ROE

137%

NSFR

60%

C/I

MUSCATOmanC

Bank Muscat

2.7×

Oman's undisputed national champion at 2.7× the asset base of its nearest domestic peer — and uniquely positioned: Oman sits outside the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint entirely.

14.9%

CET1

9.9%

ROE

CBQQatarC

Commercial Bank of Qatar

6.1%

A 6.1% NPL ratio — the highest in Qatar — collided with 15% loan growth in FY2025, sending ROE from 11.5% to 8.2%. Growth is outrunning the credit engine's capacity to absorb losses.

12.2%

CET1

8.2%

ROE

CBDUAED

Commercial Bank of Dubai

169bp

NIM expanded 169bp in four years, propelling ROE from 5.2% to 18.0% — the steepest profitability turnaround among UAE banks this cycle.

12.5%

CET1

18.0%

ROE

ABCBahrainA

Arab Banking Corporation

5 continents

The GCC's most geographically sprawling bank — loans span North America, Latin America, and the Arab World — yet a 4.9% ROE barely covers its cost of equity.

13.7%

CET1

4.9%

ROE

DUKHANQatarD

Dukhan Bank

17.4%

A 17.4% cost-to-income ratio pairs with a 3.93% NIM to produce formidable pre-provision profits. Yet a 9.2% ROE suggests capital is being warehoused, not deployed.

15.1%

CET1

9.2%

ROE

ADIBUAEC

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

20.6%

The UAE's highest ROE, full stop. A 25.7% cost-to-income ratio — tighter than FAB — turns a mid-tier balance sheet into the market's most profitable per-dirham franchise.

12.0%

CET1

20.6%

ROE

QIBQatarC

Qatar Islamic Bank

9.5%

A 9.5% cost-to-income ratio — the lowest in the entire GCC — makes QIB the region's most operationally efficient bank, converting a 4.66% NIM into 14.3% ROE almost frictionlessly.

18.5%

CET1

14.3%

ROE

RAKUAEB

National Bank of RAK

77%

Top-quartile ROE of 17.6% meets a critically deficient 77% NSFR — 23 points below the regulatory floor. RAKBANK's profitability is real; its funding structure needs rebuilding.

14.5%

CET1

17.6%

ROE

DOHAQatarC

Doha Bank

64.5%

Qatar's weakest earner at 5.3% ROE carries a 64.5% cost-to-income ratio — nearly four times QIB's 9.5% — leaving no margin of safety as Bahrain-style sovereign stress approaches.

13.1%

CET1

5.3%

ROE

78%

NSFR

65%

C/I

BURGANKuwaitB

Burgan Bank

60.9%

Subsidiaries in Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, and Iraq inflate costs to a 60.9% C/I ratio — the highest in Kuwait — compressing ROE to 4.4%, roughly half the domestic peer median.

11.2%

CET1

4.4%

ROE

NBOOmanC

National Bank of Oman

11.7%

Oman's smallest conventional bank at $15bn runs the tightest CET1 in the domestic market at 11.7%, leaving minimal headroom for growth without earnings acceleration or fresh capital.

11.7%

CET1

5.4%

ROE

NBBBahrainC

National Bank of Bahrain

14.2%

Bahrain's top ROE at 14.2% proves a small domestic franchise can outperform — but a 19.6% CET1 also whispers that management is hoarding capital ahead of sovereign turbulence.

19.6%

CET1

14.2%

ROE

SOHAROmanB

Sohar International Bank

64.5%

Oman's best CASA ratio at 64.5% should be a margin weapon — yet Sohar's 1.83% NIM is the domestic laggard, signalling an asset-side yield problem that cheap deposits alone cannot fix.

13.8%

CET1

8.7%

ROE

ABKKuwaitB

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

8.1%

ROE nearly doubled from 4.8% to 8.1% in one year. The catch: a quarter of operating income originates from Egypt and DIFC, importing currency risk most Kuwaiti peers avoid entirely.

13.4%

CET1

8.1%

ROE

QIIBQatarC

Qatar Int'l Islamic Bank

4.76%

The GCC's widest net interest margin at 4.76%, paired with an 11.8% C/I ratio, from a $17bn balance sheet concentrated almost entirely — 99.2% — in Qatari domestic financing.

14.8%

CET1

13.4%

ROE

EIBUAEC

Emirates Islamic Bank

17.7%

A fortress 17.7% CET1 — the highest in the UAE — sits atop a 0.85% NIM, yielding just 5.0% ROE. Emirates Investment Bank is a capital reservoir awaiting a deployment catalyst.

17.7%

CET1

5.0%

ROE

BOUBYANKuwaitB

Boubyan Bank

14.4%

Kuwait's digital Islamic challenger stacks a 14.4% CET1 and 119% NSFR — the sturdiest combined buffer in the market — while quietly growing into a $31bn franchise.

14.4%

CET1

8.9%

ROE

GULFKuwaitB

Gulf Bank

15.2%

Gulf Bank's 15.2% CET1 is the thickest capital cushion in Kuwait — a strategic buffer as the country faces a projected 2.7% GDP contraction with no oil bypass capacity.

15.2%

CET1

7.2%

ROE

KIBKuwaitC

Kuwait International Bank

1.48%

Kuwait's thinnest profit-rate margin at 1.48% — half of KFH's 2.99% — exposes what happens when a small Islamic bank lacks the brand-driven CASA franchise its larger rivals command.

13.9%

CET1

6.3%

ROE

WARBAKuwaitD

Warba Bank

7.54%

Kuwait's highest NPL ratio at 7.54% combines with the market's thinnest NIM at 1.03% — a stress case that tests whether a 12.8% CET1 can absorb losses without recapitalisation.

12.8%

CET1

5.4%

ROE

SHARJAHUAEC

Bank of Sharjah

6.56%

An NPL ratio of 6.56% — the UAE's highest — paired with a 0.39% NIM creates a bank earning almost nothing on performing assets while carrying the heaviest impaired book in the market.

13.4%

CET1

3.9%

ROE

Explore the 40 issuers behind these numbers

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank·Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank·Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait·Al Rajhi Bank·Alinma Bank·Arab Banking Corporation·Arab National Bank·Bank Albilad·Bank AlJazira·Bank Muscat·Bank of Sharjah·Banque Saudi Fransi·Boubyan Bank·Burgan Bank·Commercial Bank of Dubai·Commercial Bank of Qatar·Doha Bank·Dubai Islamic Bank·Dukhan Bank·Emirates Islamic Bank·Emirates NBD·First Abu Dhabi Bank·Gulf Bank·Gulf International Bank·Kuwait Finance House·Kuwait International Bank·Mashreqbank·National Bank of Bahrain·National Bank of Kuwait·National Bank of Oman·National Bank of RAK·Qatar Int'l Islamic Bank·Qatar Islamic Bank·Qatar National Bank·Riyad Bank·Saudi Awwal Bank·Saudi Investment Bank·Saudi National Bank·Sohar International Bank·Warba Bank